


The Fate of Free Will

by LeapToFreedom



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angels, F/M, Free Will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 21:10:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16502765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeapToFreedom/pseuds/LeapToFreedom
Summary: There are many types of supernatural beings in the universe. When heaven's hourglass of time is shattered by Free Will, these supernatural beings all seem to have a new goal - acquire Free Will by any means necessary.





	1. Heaven's Hourglass

                Looking through the hourglass, she watched the bits of sand fall. Time passed by with not so much as a thought to those it left behind. It could not be stopped. Seasons came and went with the rising and falling of the sun, the circling of the stars.

                The sun. She glanced up at it for the countless time in her very long life, the life that will not wait for her. She was stranded, left to wind of a world that was colorless and dull. Not one of them is willing to see, to understand, or perhaps it is simply that they could not. However, it didn’t matter. Nothing ever did. It seemed that she was locked in a room, one that she could see out of but no one could see in.

                She held her breath for one last time. The glass and sand gleamed, mocking her. How it is that one simple thing can hold her captive? Captive to a life that should be her own?

                The hourglass was smooth beneath her touch, so perfect and pure. She don’t understand. It seemed to flow like a liquid made by some magical, heavenly hand. How could one think to break such a thing, to shatter it into a hundred pieces? Yet, that is what she wished to do. How does one smash the material that time is made of? It twists and bends, forming to the flow of the universe. How could she ever hope to end it?

                The awe she felt for it ended in an explosion of fury. This was the thing that had stolen her life from her, made her suffer at its hand and dominated her being. It must be destroyed if only for her own sanity. But once the thing is gone, would she really be whole? Or was she chasing something that didn’t exist, that ceased to be? She shook her head, trying to chase the thoughts from her mind. How could something cease to be?

                Her hand still lay against the cool glass. Around her things went on as they always had. No one was aware of the sin she was about to commit. Maybe they didn’t care.

                She didn’t have a moment to spare for them. If this deed was going to be done, than it must be her who did it and it must be now. She inhaled a deep comforting breath, closing her eyes to steady herself. Not like she had anyone to wait for. Not one of them would come to stop or save her. She drew on the power residing deep within her. After all this time it was still intoxicating. How could one dip into this and not drown beneath its waves?

                A seamless moment passed and the glass shattered beneath her fingertips. Her eyes flickered open to see the sands of time seep from the hourglass that held them. The world around her began to fade as she was overtaken by panic.

                _No!_ It was a silent scream coming from every fiber of her being that echoed in the darkness of the abyss. This was not what was meant to happen. Things were supposed to stop, time to fade, and heaven to come to a standstill. Instead all that was left to her were the shadows of her own mind and the horrors within.

 


	2. The Memory of a Garden

                The man and the woman were new, fresh, wide eyed in the world that they were beginning to explore. She studied them thoughtfully. They were her sole purpose for being, yet they appeared so out of place in the greenery around them.

                “What do you think?”

                She glanced up at her father who had asked the question.

                “They are beautiful, aren’t they?” His eyes shone with a mixture of love and pride as he spoke.

                “Yes, but I’m not sure what exactly I have to do with them.” She replied looking back toward the couple who had begun to examine a flowering bush.

                “Oh, everything.” There was a hint of amusement in her father’s voice. “You are very important to them indeed.”

                “But not as special as them.” It wasn’t jealously that drove the question, but a desire for understanding.

                “Correct.”

                “Why?”

                He looked at her then. A gleam of something she couldn’t place showing in his eyes. “Because they are humanity. And humanity is different. Different. From you. The angels. The animals. The plants. Everything. They are truly unique. And you,” He pulled her into his embrace as he spoke, “You my dear one, are and always will be very important to them. Never forget that they need you.”


	3. Diner on the Side of an Old Highway

                She woke from her dream gasping for air and a heavy rain falling on her face. She groaned and rolled to her side then up into a sitting position while attempting to get her bearings. The pain that shot through her back was enough to tell her that she had landed pretty aggressively. She appeared to be in the middle of an abandoned highway, old concrete stretching out in either direction. It was cold, wet and dark. Despite the pain, she took her new situation as an improvement. She was no longer trapped in her previous confines and free to move about.

                Gingerly, she got to her feet. Pain pulsed down her arms and legs as her breath hitched momentarily. Her vision swam and her skull ached as she looked up to the sky, wondering if she had fallen. She grunted, knowing she had to push through the pain. It wouldn’t be long before the alarm was raised that she was missing and someone was bound to notice heaven’s hourglass was broken.

                She picked the portion of the road that was to her left and started walking. It didn’t particularly matter at the moment where she was going as long as she was moving. She was well aware of the dangers of staying in one place too long. It wasn’t like it was her first time here, although this time around she felt uncomfortably _human_. How long she walked, she was unsure, but eventually the rain stopped, the sky lit up with the morning’s rays and with eyes mostly closed she found herself standing in front of a small town diner on the side of the old highway.

                She was through the door before she could fully process the notion of what she was doing. The smell of food was overwhelming any coherent thought and flooding her senses. The diner was basically empty. Three men sat in the far corner by the window, but she was too exhausted to spare them much a glance. Their hushed whispers continued as she collapsed into an old wooden chair and the waitress approached.

                “What can I get for you, honey?” The waitress asked as she placed a cup of coffee down in front of her new guest.

                She caught sight of the waitress’ name tag before her eyes fluttered closed in turmoil. Janet. The waitress’ name was Janet. She let out a heavy sigh as she realized the likelihood of her having any money was probably very slim. She’d had to ask Janet if it was acceptable for her to simply sit there for a time.

                Janet must have sensed her dilemma, “Tell you what,” she offered cheerfully, “How about I just pick something for you? I’ve got some food that’s just coming off the stove. On the house.”

                Exhausted, she simply nodded, vaguely aware the whispering in the corner had stopped. Under normal circumstances the silence would have alarmed her, but she was too drained in every manner of being to even register that the three men’s eyes were on her.

                Janet came back with a plate of hot food and put it down on the table. Muttering her appreciation, she picked up her fork. However, she stilled when she realized Janet was still standing there.

                “Yes?” Her voice was barely a whisper, but it seemed to fill the whole diner.

                “I was curious how you liked it.” Janet flashed a quick smile.

                Unease coiled tightly in her stomach. Something was wrong and if she wasn’t so damn tired she would have caught onto it sooner. To make matters worse she was in no condition to fight and there were three humans in the corner she needed to protect.

                She slowly lowered her fork back to the table then placed both hands in her lap, triggering the release on a band that held a long silver blade to her bicep. It dropped down her arm into her hand.

                “You also haven’t had any of your coffee.” Janet went on, her green eyes glowing into a cold blue.

                “Can we step outside and do this?” Her voice was weak at best. She was beyond tired. And if she had any chance of the humans surviving the next few minutes, a confrontation with an angel needed to be moved as far away from them as possible.

                “No.” Janet, the angel smirked. “We’re going to do this right here.”

                Adrenaline kicked in and she was on her my feet and diving behind the angel towards the humans in the same moment Janet was flinging the small table with the food on it to the side. “Go!” She screamed at the three men before turning to face Janet, raising her blade and stopping the attack before it could slice into her back. She was vaguely aware of chairs scrapping along linoleum before the angel overpowered her and threw her to the wall farthest from where the men had been sitting. At least they would be out of harm’s way.

                She hit the wall hard and heard something inside her crack. She was definitely human. She coughed blood and moved to tighten her grip on her blade. Her hand closed on air. She swore to herself as she fell forward away from the wall, on her hands and knees. Fanatically looking for her weapon, she spotted it laying half way between her and Janet. She lunged for it, but the angel reached it first, kicking it aside with a laugh.

                Janet hunched down in a crouch before her, grabbing her by the hair and forcing her upright so that she was on her knees with the length of her neck exposed. Janet held a long slender angelic blade to her throat. She hung there, weak in the angel’s grip. _I’m going to die._ She thought. Janet laughed, running her blade from ear to neck then down to her collarbone, slicing the skin open.

                “I was told you would be a challenge.” Janet sneered. “And here you are. Some pathetic little human.” She nearly spat the last word. “Well, guess what? It’s time to go home and pay for your sins.” The angel’s eyes shone with wicked glee at the prospect of taking her captive away for punishment.

                _It’d be better to die._ The thought slammed into her as she struggled fruitlessly in the angel’s grasp.

                “But first,” Janet didn’t finish the sentence, just started laughing as she yanked her prisoner’s head back and began carving again.

                She closed her eyes and held in the scream. She refused to give the angel the satisfaction of crying out in pain. It wasn’t her first time being sliced into, although admittedly it was her first time being human.

                Suddenly Janet stopped and there was a slight gargle. As she opened her eyes she saw a hand gripping the angel’s shoulder from behind and a blade peeking out through the front of her chest. It was a heavenly blade, just like the one the angel and her both carried. She closed her eyes against the blinding white light as the angel burned out. She slumped to the floor freed from Janet’s grasp.

                The whole encounter had lasted a matter of minutes at most, but it had left her struggling to remain conscious. She had been past the point of exhaustion upon entering the diner. Now with a dead angel in front of her, cracked or broken ribs and a strong likelihood of internal bleeding, the only thing she could do was pass out.


	4. Distracted

                She had passed out, collapsed onto her side against the yellowing linoleum floor. Blood ran in rivets from the deep wounds on her neck and upper chest. That blood was staining her dirty grey shirt and beginning to pool underneath her.

                Movement in Castiel’s peripheral vision caught his attention. He had been the first to move when the fight broke out. He was now standing over the dead angel’s body holding his bloodied angel blade. Sam and Dean had just rushed over to him.

                Sam knelt beside the woman, checking her pulse. Frowning he looked up towards his older brother and Castiel. “She’s hurt bad. We should get her back to the motel.”

                Dean nodded, while Sam scooped her up in his arms. A twinge of emotion washed through Castiel, but he wasn’t sure what to make of it so he discarded it. He quickly collected the angelic blades scattered around the diner while the brothers got the woman settled into the car.

                Dean owned a ’67 Chevy Impala that he kept in pristine condition. He was more emotionally attached to that car than he was to most humans. Castiel had learned to accept this about Dean and tried not to dwell on it. It pained him that Dean didn’t have many people he would consider ‘close’.

Dean caught his eye over the roof of the car. “You’re in back with the girl.” He called as he dropped into the driver’s seat.

                Castiel growled but didn’t say anything as he folded himself into the backseat next to the woman. He would have some questions for her once she woke up. Questions like what was she doing with an angelic blade and how did she know to warn Dean and Sam of the other angel? Questions that he would need answers to before he was willing to allow her near the Winchesters.

                In the meantime she needed to be kept alive. Sam had removed his plaid over-shirt and had instructed Castiel to use it to keep pressure on the woman’s wounded neck. Castiel thought it was silly since he could just heal her. However that would lead to bickering about his waning grace and open discussion back up for how he was going to acquire more. It wasn’t a conversation he was eager to have with the two brothers. He frowned peering down at the woman, keenly aware that her pulse was growing weaker. It seemed Sam’s shirt was doing little to stop the flow of blood.

                He tried to distract himself from his feeling of helplessness by studying the rest of her. She was of small stature, with a well-endowed chest and curvy hips. Yet for all that she still managed to seem petite. It was quite puzzling. She had short brown wavy hair with sprinkles of red throughout it and skin so pale it looked like alabaster. A part of him wondered if it was like that due to blood loss or if it was naturally that shade. It appeared to have a smooth silky texture to it and he found himself reaching out and brushing the back of his hand across her check. She didn’t even flinch when he touched her. His frown deepened. Her skin was ice cold.

                “Is she supposed to be cold to the touch?” He inquired of the brothers in the front seat.

                Sam glanced back towards him slightly startled.

                “Well, she is soaking wet.” Dean said snarkily.

                “We’ll need to get her out of those clothes first thing.” Sam said as Castiel’s eyes drifted to the wet shirt pulling tight against the woman’s chest.

                He swallowed hard. What the hell was wrong with him?


	5. Voices

                Voices. She was aware of voices. They were arguing. However, she couldn’t tell what about. Cold had seeped through every part of her numbing her to the pain, to her surroundings, and to any desire she had to being conscious.

                “We have to do something.”

                “And we will.”

                “I can heal her. Why won’t you just let me?”

                This last line confused her. No human could heal her. Not if she truly did fall. No human would be able to help her. She would just get worse until she blinked out of existence. What would happen to humanity then?

                “We’re not allowing you to do that!” The voice sounded angry. Hurt. She couldn’t figure out why.

                “We could just take her to a hospital.”

                “And tell them what? That an angel attacked her?” There was a lot emotion in this one’s voice. The owner sounded like they were hurting and weren’t able to understand why or come to grips with the emotions they were experiencing. Her heart broke for him although she didn’t understand why.

                “Look, we need a plan.” This one was pleading, begging the other two to see reason of some sort. “She’s stable enough for now. The bleeding has stopped. Let’s do some research, see what we find and regroup.” There was a slight pause then, “Cass, do you know what the angel meant by taking her home to pay for her sins?”

                Sheer panic gripped her mind. _Please no._ She prayed. _Please. It’s the only selfish thing I’ve ever ask for; please just let me die and let this burden pass to humanity. They are ready for it. Please, just let me go. Don’t take me back._

                “Cass?”

                _Please._ She was screaming inside as she spiraled into despair.


	6. Recesses of the Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some parts of this chapter I'm not happy with and still want to work out more. I want it to flow smoother, so this one may be a work in progress that I come back to.

                The stillness hung thick in the room.

                Castiel was gazing at the woman who lay on the bed. They had managed to remove her wet clothes and get her into a pair of Dean’s gym shorts and one of his shirts. They then set about stitching and bandaging her up. The whole experience had been distracting for Castiel. First there was her nakedness, then dealing with her wounds and the struggle to get Dean’s clothes on her, but that wasn’t the worst of it. The entire back half of her body was covered in bruises like she had fallen from a great height and landed squarely on her back. There were also hundreds of thin white scars all over her body that could only be seen in certain light. Castiel was confident that Sam and Dean couldn’t see them. It raised the baffling question as to who she was.

                And then there was what Castiel had just heard. The same distinct voice he had heard in the diner. She wanted to die. He didn’t know why, but he knew that she did. And now he was certain that she had some connection to heaven, which meant there was no way he was going to let her die.

                He had been cut off from heaven for a very long time now. Angel had turned on angel as was evident with him slaying his own sister earlier that day. He needed to know what was going on in heaven and this woman could tell him, possibly even help him find a way back. He mulled the idea over in his head.

                “Cass?” Sam looked at him with a frown.

                Castiel tore his eyes away from the woman and looked between Sam and Dean. The two of them had frown lines creasing their brows.

                “I don’t know what ‘sins’ my sister was referring to.” he stated, following up on Sam’s question that he had almost missed entirely by indulging in his own thoughts too deeply. “She could very well have been a rouge angel who has no connection to heaven whatsoever in which case it could be any number of ‘sins’. You two have certainly racked them up.”

                That earned him a smile from Dean. Castiel sighed and began pacing the room, his trench coat billowing out behind him slightly.

                “Alright here’s the plan then.” Dean said taking charge. “Sam and I are going to go get some supplies for this hunt. I mean, we’re still on a case here. Cass, you watch Sleeping Beauty there. And remember,”

                “I know, I know,” Castiel cut him off. “No healing.” He rolled his eyes while facing away from Dean.

                “Right.” Dean grew somber for a moment. “Seriously dude, you don’t have the juice for it. It could burn you out.”

                Dean and Sam gathered their gear, piled into the Impala and peeled out of the motel’s parking lot.

                Castiel waited a good fifteen minutes after the sound of the Impala had died away before carefully perching on the edge of the bed the woman lay on. He couldn’t hear her in his mind anymore but her face was scrunched up like she was in pain.

                He took her cold hand in his and placed his other hand on her forehead. She was burning up. He frowned. Now that was odd. He tentatively reached out with his mind towards hers. She was human after all. He should be able to feel her, to sense her dreams and influence them. What he found both shocked and terrified him. It also rooted him to the spot, leaving him unable to act.

                It was a hurricane of images, feelings, thoughts. He was afraid he would get lost in them, drown even. He gripped her cold hand to keep a part of himself rooted in the physical realm.

                First there was the garden. The garden with the first couple. But they weren’t carefree as they had been when he had known them. The garden was burning and the first couple was screaming in agony, crying, wailing, and begging for forgiveness. All the while Castiel’s brother stood behind them grinning that wicked smile of his. The woman stood in front of the couple. Her hair was long and flowing. Anger, rage and hurt shone in her eyes.

                Then there was the first murder. She was there again. She cradled one dead brother in her lap as the other stood over her holding the jaw of an ass that dripped in blood. There was no anger there, no rage. Just pain.

                One after another images came. War, death, rape. She was there each and every time. Castiel’s fury and sorrow mounted with each flash and twisted memory that passed through her mind. He could take no more. This _creature_ would pay for the suffering she had inflicted upon humanity.

                The image before him was one of a white room. The woman was the only person there. She looked much as she did now, but with no wounds. There was a wooden table against one wall with a large hourglass on it. She sat on the floor, knees drawn up, watching the sand fall.

                “How could you?” Castiel’s words ripped from his throat, hoarse with rage, hitting her like daggers that she visibly jerked away from as her eyes slid off the hourglass to meet his.

                “How did you get here?” Her haunted eyes stared at him. Castiel was too full of wrath to notice the sorrow there.

                “How could you do this to humanity?!” He roared at her as he yanked her into the air, holding her by the front of her shirt.

                Giant tears rolled down her eyes as a sob tore through her body. “I couldn’t stop it.” She sobbed. “I tried, but,”

                “Stop!” He threw her across the room where she hit the wall and collapsed. The part of Castiel connected to the physical world felt her shudder and convulse. “I saw it happen!” He bellowed at her, trembling uncontrollably as anger rolled off him in waves.

                She curled into a ball, but didn’t try to defend herself, didn’t try to fight back while he took all his heavenly fury out on her. And there, inside her mind, he was at full angelic power. He was too caught up in his wrath to even notice it.

                As his temper cooled and his fist calmed, she crumbled at his feet. He had taken a great deal of contentment in bringing justice to a being that had inflicted so much suffering upon humanity.

                He stood over her, voice low and calm as he studied her. “You have brought much pain to humanity. What do you feel is a just punishment for that?”

                In that moment a small breeze ruffled his dark brown hair and he knew he was no longer alone inside her mind.

                “Hello brother.” The relaxed voice sent a chill down Castiel’s spine. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.  Slowly, deliberately, he turned. Lucifer lounged against the wall behind him. A big smile on his face.

                “What are you doing here?” Castiel’s voice was cold. Lucifer was the last person he wanted to see. Be it literally or figuratively.

                “Oh, I’ve just come along to collect what’s mine. You’ve done a wonderful job softening her up for me by the way. Thanks for that.” Lucifer smiled as he nodded towards the woman at Castiel’s feet.

                Regardless of what the woman had done, Castiel wasn’t about to hand her over to Lucifer. Whatever he wanted her for couldn’t be good. Castiel’s options included fighting Lucifer or trying to pull the woman out from within her mind. Neither seemed wise, especially after he had just destroyed whatever mental defenses she may have had left after her encounter with the angel at the diner.

                When Castiel didn’t respond Lucifer sighed like he was talking to a particularly dense child. “Brother, she belongs to me.” He said slowly. “Now kindly hand her over and I’ll be on my way.”

                Castiel heard and felt the woman whimper against the back of his calves. She was terrified. In an intimate way, she was terrified of Lucifer. In that moment Castiel decided to take his chances by pulling her back from within her own mind.

                As if sensing Castiel’s decision Lucifer pushed himself away from the wall, narrowing his eyes. “You don’t actually think you can take her from me, do you?” He snarled. “She is mine. There is nowhere you could hide her from me.”

                Fear gripped Castiel. He needed to act quickly or this was going to end badly for him. Was it possible for an angel to die by the hand of another angel inside a human’s mind? He didn’t want to find out.

                Castiel spun quickly, dropping into a crouch. Pulling the woman out from the recesses of her mind would require a great amount of strength and concentration. Both of which he doubted he would have with Lucifer hanging about. His hand grazed the woman as a pain seared through his shoulder. Lucifer’s blade was protruding from the front of his left chest. A cry of pain ripped itself from Castiel’s throat. The woman’s eyes, which had been closed in pain and fear, snapped open at his touch and agonized cry. She stared into his clear blue eyes for the briefest of moments before wrapping her hands around the back of his head and tilting his face down towards her. Momentary confusion mingled with pain etched themselves on Castiel’s face as she lifted hers and kissed his forehead. He felt her cracked lips leave moisture on his skin. From that spot a warmth spread. It filled his entire being with power. He extended his wings to their full capacity, wrapped his arms tightly around the woman’s waist and launched himself through her mind, away from Lucifer and back to the motel room.


	7. Castiel's Guilt

                Castiel slammed back into himself with a force that left him breathless. With his grace waning, every ounce of him hurt from the impact. However, his shoulder was worse of all. With trembling fingers he undid two of his white dress shirt buttons and looked at the flesh beneath. The skin stretched taunt over his muscles was slightly red like it had just recently healed from a wound, but it was whole.

                Exhaustion took over him as he breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes, thankful to be alive. Lucifer’s blade slicing through his shoulder had felt so real, he had been sure he was going to die. He replayed the event in his mind. Lucifer’s smile, the angel blade cutting through his bone and muscle, the woman’s eyes.

                The woman. Who was she? He felt himself frowning. No human could do what she did, but it was clear that she was human for both he and Lucifer had been able to enter her mind. However, when he did it, he was returned to his original grace. This puzzled him for he had lost his grace some time ago. What type of human, or partial human, could return an angelic being to their natural grace if only in their mind? If she wasn’t human, than what type of being could do that? He was sure whatever the answer was, was also the reason as to why Lucifer as after her.

                Castiel shivered despite himself. Lucifer. He was free. His words still caused fear to course through his veins. He would be looking for the woman. Perhaps tracking her. If that was true, both Dean and Sam were in danger. He had to do something.

                “Cass!” Dean’s concerned voice ripped him from his thoughts. “Cass, are you alright?!”

                He opened his eyes to see Dean crouched in front of him something bordering on fear etched into his face. He hadn’t even heard the brothers return. His vision swayed slightly and it wasn’t until he felt Dean’s hands grip his shoulders that he realized he was on the verge of collapsing backwards onto the bed.

                “Cass, what happened?” Sam’s voice had a slight tremor to it that caused Castiel to look up at him.

                Sam was looking past Castiel towards the woman on the bed. A sick feeling rose from Castiel’s stomach towards his throat as he remembered feeling the woman’s body shudder and convulse as he mercilessly passed judgement on her. That was before Lucifer had shown up. Before she had bestowed some sort of power upon him that got them back to the motel. Castiel now realized he may have judged her too harshly, too soon. He felt ashamed and he hadn’t even looked at her yet.

                “Cass?” The question from Sam was a plea, begging him to say that he hadn’t done this. Castiel dropped his gaze.

                “Cass, come on buddy. Talk to us.” Dean shook him gently.

                Sam had moved around to the other side of the bed to examine the woman. “Shit, man this is bad.” He said after a few minutes.

                Castiel raised his blue eyes to meet Dean’s green ones. The concern there – the concern for him – broke his heart. “I touched her mind.” He finally said.

                Both brothers froze and stared at him. It was obvious that Dean was trying to remain calm. Castiel couldn’t see Sam, but he could feel the tension rolling off him in waves.

                “Did you do this, Cass?” Sam’s voice had an edge to it.

                “Of course he didn’t do this.” Dean snapped at his brother. “I mean look at him! He’s beat to hell and can barely sit upright on his own.”

                There was silence for a moment before it was broken by Sam. “Cass, who did this? Who did this to the both of you?”

                Castiel was quiet for a moment. Debating what to tell his friends. He settled on what they needed to know for now. What he needed to tell them to keep them safe. “Lucifer is back.” He whispered into the stillness of the room. He turned so that he could look from Dean to Sam. The brothers had a personal history with Lucifer, Sam in particular.

                Sam stood rooted in place, his jaw clenched tight.

                Dean broke the silence first. “Explain.”

                Castiel sighed. “In her mind. Lucifer was there. And if he is able to appear in her mind, than that means he has escaped from the cage…” He trailed off as his eyes fell on the woman.

                Bile rose from Castiel’s stomach and his throat constricted in on itself. The woman was barely recognizable. The first thing he noticed was her face. Blood ran steadily from her nose, mouth and ears. Her eyes appeared to be swollen shut. The angel blade wounds from her ear down her neck to her collarbone were bleeding freely and every inch of flesh that he could see was a sickly purple blue color. Bruises he realized. It appeared that her entire body was covered in horrific bruises. The sharp recall of her convulsing physically as his fist made contact with her in her mind made him feel sick. He had done this to her. Not Lucifer, but him. Maybe she was better off with Lucifer after all.

                “Earth to Castiel!”

                His attention snapped back to Dean as he tore his eyes away from the woman. Dean was giving him an odd look. For the life of him, Castiel couldn’t remember what Dean had just said.

                “You have no idea what I just said, do you?” Dean asked.

                “No.” The word was drawn out as Castiel’s mind began to wander back towards the woman.

                “Alright,” Dean stood, letting go of Castiel’s arms and began to clear off the other full sized bed in the motel room. “Time for you to lay down buddy. We’ll patch her up - again. Then we’re going to finish our case while you two rest up. We can leave her with a local doctor once we get her fixed up a bit.”

                Something about that plan reignited the fear in Castiel’s veins. “No!”

                Both brothers stopped what they were doing and turned to face Castiel.

                “Look, Cass, we can patch her up, but she needs a doctor.” Sam believed he was trying to persuade Castiel to rest.

                “Sam’s right.” Dean pitched in. “You need rest. You’re not at full strength.”

                “You don’t understand.” Castiel said sitting up straighter. “Lucifer can track her.”

                No one said anything for a moment.

                “By track her,” Dean said.

                “You mean he could be on his way here?” Sam finished.

                Castiel sighed and crumpled in on himself again. “Yes.”

                There was silence and then a flurry of movement as the brothers threw belongings into duffle bags. What little they had went flying into the bags – clothes, guns, knives, toothbrushes, a laptop - and then the bags were being slung over their shoulders.

                “Sammy, get the girl!” Dean shouted as he pulled one of Castiel’s arms across the back of his shoulders and heaved him off the bed and out the motel room door.

                Castiel was struggling to keep up. With his grace waning he was dying. Despite being mental, his encounter with Lucifer had greatly weakened him. He found Dean settling him into the backseat as Sam nestled the woman next to him. As they were peeling out of the parking lot leaving the motel room behind, Castiel felt himself losing consciousness. It was his first time experiencing the sensation and he didn’t care for it.

                He felt himself come to when the Impala went over a large bump in the road.

                “Good, you’re still with us.” Dean said from the front seat.

                “I must have dozed off.” Castiel replied looking out the window. Several hours had passed. It had become night.

                Neither of the brothers said anything.

                Castiel looked down at the woman beside him. She hadn’t improved much. The guilt Castiel was feeling was overwhelming. He did this to her. He had inflicted this damage. Regardless of who she was, what she had done, she didn’t deserve this. He had grown past the angel that blindly followed orders and dealt out divine judgement. What he had done was wrong and he knew it.

                “I did this.” He whispered into the silence of the car. “I need to make it right.”

                “Cass, what are you...” Dean didn’t get to finish the sentence.

                Castiel had leaned across the woman who lay against him and in one swift movement ripped the front Dean’s shirt that she was wearing revealing her bare chest beneath.

                “What the hell?!” Dean’s yell came from the front as he slammed on the breaks of the Impala.

                He was too late. Castiel had already pressed his hand to her sternum and released all of his remaining grace into her.


End file.
